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TSUNAMI SMACKDOWN ATTEMPTED
You think Muslims versus Christians is a major feud? Or Linux vs. Microsoft? Red state vs. Blue state? Well, friends, these disputes are as nothing compared to the ferocious rivalry between Hurricane Rooters and their hated opponents, the Tsunami Buddies. Leading hurricane advocate James Wolcott disses the Buddies in his latest post:
I was pleased to see the President of the United States put down the frigging rake long enough to put on his best Sunday-go-to-meetin’ suit and issue a public statement regarding the catastrophic tsunami.
Tsunami fans will no doubt claim Wolcott is simply jealous his beloved twisters (“Mother Nature’s fist of fury, Gaia’s stern rebuke”) couldn’t achieve such an outstanding body count.
Considering his previous asinine, retarded, thoughtless, ludicrous statements about hurricanes, Wolcott should really shut the fuck up. Forever. And on every subject. That asshole simply has no shame, otherwise he would have hung up the feather quill with which I’m sure he writes what he probably considers witty cosmopolitan prose.
That pompous braindead pseudo-intellectual waste of skin.
Posted by Crispytoast on 2004 12 30 at 04:39 PM • permalinkDid anyone really think that that slug, Wolcott, would have any shame? I think of him as Ted Rall with an MFA. Don’t miss Damian Penny’s brilliant take on Wolcott: http://www.damianpenny.com/archived/003689.html
Posted by Joe Geoghegan on 2004 12 30 at 04:53 PM • permalinkI might get worked up over it if he wasn’t so obviously trolling.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2004 12 30 at 05:08 PM • permalinkI happen to be a hurricane fan, having seen their work up close and personal on several occasions. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only natural disaster people have parties for and that has to count for something.
By the way, has anyone seen the wonderful Getty Images pic from Sri Lanka that LGF has been talking about?
It helped me to focus on the kind of relief agency to which I want to donate.
Posted by Confederate Yankee on 2004 12 30 at 06:08 PM • permalinkJuan Cole wants to merge the teams:
“This particular tsunami was caused by an earthquake and was unrelated to climate change….
[repeat of above]
But everyone should realize that global warming contributes to extreme weather events, causing more hurricanes and typhoons and stronger ones….
[stats on nature’s damage]Giant waves are only one potential problem with global warming.”
Warming’s Whoppers?
If you want to let this miserable piece of crap known as “Wolcott” what you think of his opinions, here’s his e-mail address:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Posted by David Crawford on 2004 12 30 at 09:11 PM • permalinkTHe Australian anchor man in phuket for channel ten just treated us to a “stingy americans who spend more on one air force jet crap”. This guy should be SACKED forthwoth.
How dare they use air time devoted to the disasiter to air their crass opinions!
Perhaps this troll is not even aware of FRANCE’S paltry donations and of course it would not be PC to mention it. But kicking the yanks in the guts is OK.
jeez i get mad when these idiots mouth off!I am amazed that the BBC has not yet jumped on the “US are skinflints” and “global-warming caused this” memes. Their reporting has been pretty straight-forward and without any prejudice.
Posted by Andrew Ian Dodge on 2004 12 31 at 12:42 AM • permalinkTsunamis are nicer for geeks, since the propagation laws are known and even interesting, being only gravity waves in water. You can do that in two dimensions and get it right for three, as far as understanding goes.
Hurricanes are a mess as far as theory goes. A kid gets to enjoy them though, major trees down, school closed, candles instead of lights.
The Gaia line has to overcome the twin hurdles of geeks and kids relating otherwise.
American usage note: a “twister” is a tornado, not a hurricane. Wolcott probably likes tornadoes even better, as they’re heavily concentrated in the red states and particularly deadly to people living in trailer parks.
To complete Prof. Cole’s thought: The particular earthquake that caused this particular tsunami was caused by slippage along a crustal plate boundary, and was unrelated to the wrath of Sauron. Destructive earth movements are only one potential problem with the West’s foolish defiance of the Dark Lord.
Posted by Paul Zrimsek on 2004 12 31 at 01:37 AM • permalinkHurricanes vs Earthquake/Tsunami. Sure the hurricanes were terrible but within minutes after of their passing, help was on the way. Hospitals, markets and restaurants had generators and although there was no A/C, most of us had food, water and medical help.
An “Only in America” moment similar to the spontaneous caravans of emergency vehicles going to the WTC site after 9/11, we were driving on I95 (major north-south interstate highway from Maine to the Keys for your down under types) near St. Augustine, Florida when we saw a convoy of at least 25 enormous FPL (Florida Power & Light) trucks heading south from Georgia. Behind them were national guard vehices, oil tankers, every kind of emergency vehicles imaginable and tree removal trucks from all over the country. It made you proud to be an American for two reasons. 1. One we have unimaginable resources of people and materiel., and 2. we drop whatever we’re doing and pitch in to help our neighbors.
What does all this have to do with this string?
We in the anglosphere can’t imagine living without the sure knowledge that we can handle whatever is thrown against us, not so in the third world where nature slams them without mercy and their religion and government conspire against them as well. The one-world, hate America crowd rises to the moment. They don’t care how many people are dead, how many children were whisked out to sea never to be seen again, they see every disaster as an opportunity to reveal their madness—which takes us to our former president trawling for attention on the BBC. He’s a disgrace to the human race.
I hope Bush doesn’t send cash which seldom gets to the victims, but usually ends up making people like Arafat billionaires.
BTW - How much have “Palestinians” contributed?
“White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the president was confident he could monitor events effectively without returning to Washington or making public statements in Crawford, where he spent part of the day clearing brush and bicycling.”
This is just fine by me. In this age of instant access via cell phone and computer WHY in the heck should the POTUS be chained to his White House desk? It’s not as if he is out of contact with what is happening around the world.
As for his physical activities (“clearing brush and bicycling”), I find that engaging in physical activities helps to clear the mind and helps me think. This may not be true for everyone. Perhaps some people think better pacing around a room and wringing their hands. Others may think best if they sit quietly and meditate. For me, nothing beats some good physical labor, or physical recreation, to help me focus my thoughts.
Wolcott’s comments on Bush’s activities:
“Clearing brush? What is he, Luke on The Real McCoys, Eb on Green Acres, or the cardboard cut-out figurehead leader of the free world?”
It’s possible the people Wolcott associates with are so far removed from physical labor that anyone engaging in them needs to be made fun of because they seem so odd. This is not true of many people I know. Physical labor isn’t foreign to us. Some of us actually ENJOY IT and need a good dose of it to counteract the non-physical stresses in our lives.
With all the stress that Bush has been under with the election and the Global War on Terror, I’m VERY GLAD he’s taking some time to engage in healthy physical activities. I am encouraged to know that my president is doing something *I* can relate to as he copes with all the situations that are before him.
The narrow-mindedness of some people who are supposed to be ‘intellectuals’ is staggering.
Posted by CJosephson on 2004 12 31 at 02:25 AM • permalinkblerp:
“We in the anglosphere can’t imagine living without the sure knowledge that we can handle whatever is thrown against us, not so in the third world where nature slams them without mercy and their religion and government conspire against them as well. The one-world, hate America crowd rises to the moment. They don’t care how many people are dead, how many children were whisked out to sea never to be seen again, they see every disaster as an opportunity to reveal their madness ..”
Very well put!!
It’s disgusting to witness people virtually standing on top of the unburied dead as they use them as props to make statements against the US. Of course, these are mostly the same people who stand on top of Saddam’s Iraqi dead and declare the Coalition countries to be ‘intruders’.
People who will use the dead as a prop don’t care for much but their ideologies. Their ideologies are their god(s). One way to worship their god(s) is to take every opportunity to express their ideology, no matter how insensitive it may seem.
Their motto => Ideology is all that matters.
People matter ONLY as much as they can be used to further ideology.
Posted by CJosephson on 2004 12 31 at 02:54 AM • permalinkBut Bush is supposed to swim out there himself, you see. He’s supposed to be Aquaman.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2004 12 31 at 02:54 AM • permalinkthis Wolcott is a “hurricane rooter”. Is that similar to a “dog rooter”?
Posted by Steve at the pub on 2004 12 31 at 03:02 AM • permalinkIs that similar to a “dog rooter”?
Actually, he’s closer to Roto Rooter.
Posted by treehuggingsister on 2004 12 31 at 03:54 AM • permalinkI think a recent essay by David Warren says it all.
http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/Comment/Dec04/index265.shtml
Perhaps someone show start a list of individuals who are rooting for the void. Who believe nothing, Mr. Wolcott can be first on the list of Null People.
But Bush is supposed to swim out there himself, you see. He’s supposed to be Aquaman.
Jim, I know you’ve been to IMAO.
Aquaman…
*shrugs*
...not so good.
Posted by Confederate Yankee on 2004 12 31 at 04:03 AM • permalinkBelieve it or not, Aquaman existed before IMAO.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2004 12 31 at 04:08 AM • permalinkBuck-up James Wolcott. While your precious hurricanes can’t hold a fiddle to the devastation of the Tsunami, they still managed to hold their own.
U.S. deaths from 2004 hurricanes:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001443.html
Charley: 31
Frances: 32
Ivan: 52
Jeanne: 8Plus, damages of over $30 billion.
I can see why James is a little bummed, but any other year that’s a pretty good haul.
Wolcott’s been trying to take on, or at least get attention, from the blogosphere recently with, well…frankly, idiotic sentiments poorly expressed and ludicrously delivered. Lileks beat him like a drum over “Merry Christmas” and now his “I like dead people” posting tars him as an soporific, eastern establishment, class-ossified writer-refugee from a Dickens novel, seeking relevance in an age that has past him by. I wonder if Vanity Fair gets tarred with the same brand busting brush?
Does anyone else think it’s a bit ironic that Wolcott attacks Bush’s alleged lack of empathy in a post titled “Muttered Asides” where his very few thoughts on the disaster share space with mentions of blogroll changes?
One can practically feel the empathy oozing from his pores.
Posted by Randal Robinson on 2004 12 31 at 06:46 AM • permalinkSomeone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Wolcott childless? If so, perhaps intelligent design was involved.
Posted by Ink Slinger on 2004 12 31 at 07:43 AM • permalinkI find it quite amuzing people are giving Bush a hard time. Their hero Annan of the UN was asked why he didn’t come back from his vacation early.
He responded with I don’t have to be in the office to work, and they seemed to accept his answer.
Posted by billrob458 on 2004 12 31 at 12:29 PM • permalink“Mother Nature’s fist of fury, Gaia’s stern rebuke.”
Anybody who reads into “environmental ethics” or “deep ecology” textbooks used in university classes (my knowledge is from such books required for environmentalism classes a U. of Wisconsin-Madison taken by my daughter; she went on to art history), knows that running just below the surface of “Gaia” myth-mongering is a lot of anger, animus, revenge-seeking, and simple plain hatred.
The notion that “nature” is in the business of inflicting revenge is blatantly anthropomorphic, and thus revelatory of environmental writers’ own murderous animus. And not irrelevant on this score is the fact that most environmental mavins are more-or-less explicit marxists with a massive gripe against “exploitative” capitalists, and therefore pre-eminently deserving of Gaia’s (read: marxists’) wrath.
There is, IOW, a seamless set of links that hook together today’s marxoids, anti-globalists, environmental revolutionaries, radical feminists, and not least, blue-state media liberal chatterboxes, which links come down to the ceaseless rage to find and nail someone for doing something “immoral.”
Lot of immorality in south-east Asia, I suppose, definitely derserving of Gaia’s righteous wrath.
Posted by Michael McCanles on 2004 12 31 at 03:14 PM • permalinkNo one can cut Wolcott down to size the way Lileks did.
Perhaps. Perhaps it just me; Hulk dumb. Hulk want clerk say Merry Christmas. But I’m actually quite relaxed about the matter. I don’t care if the clerks don’t say Merry Christmas. Big deal. What amuses me is the sense of annoyance I detect when I say Merry Christmas to them. Aw, you had to do and say it. Now I gotta say it back to you or you’re going to think I don’t believe in Merry Christmas. Christ! The very words have taken on a peculiar charge in the retail world, and I think that’s interesting.
But again: if people use the phrase in a certain segment of a narrow island attached to the East Coast, I’m obviously talking through my hat. My tall, multi-level POPE HAT, worn for entries just like these.
This unusual method uber-fisking almost demands a special term:
lilek v. To roundly and humorously rebuke criticism through sarcastic, hyberbolic self-deprecation. e.g. “On IMAO today, Frank J. completely lileked a complaining Canadian guy by asking the beligerant Canuck to provide a little Canadian child that he could beat up.”
Posted by Protagonist on 2004 12 31 at 03:30 PM • permalinkI knew it was global warming that caused the tsunami - my theory has been vindicated by Munich Re Insurance.
This is just from the bean-counters - wait until the real scientists get back from holidays!
P.S. For the uninitiated, my theory was that global warming has heated up the ocean, and everyone knows that hot water is not as dense as cold water, and this released the ocean pressure that was holding the earth’s under-sea crust together.
Nurse! Nurse! It’s medication time!
Kaboom, maybe a real upshot from Munich Re is whether the U.S. Gov’t should reconsider “flood” insurance?
And, Damn, I was certain that overpopulation caused earthquakes by the random convergence of effing waves, not merely the increased CO2 therefrom. But maybe a TOE is possible, after all? I favor McCanles’ view: psychoneurosis.
No, it’s all those overpopulating people stomping around who shake the crust loose, like that upstairs neighbor who just won’t go to bed. Not to mention all the torque from SUV tires trying to make the continents drift…
No! I must speak the truth! The problem is those damned drifting continents! Aimlessly drifting, with no plan or thought for the future! We have to sit those continents down, make ‘em get a haircut and a job, or tell them them they’re out on the street…!
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2004 12 31 at 07:04 PM • permalinkNo—the Atomic bomb will only make Zanboolu STRONGER!
Posted by John Nowak on 2004 12 31 at 10:49 PM • permalinkYou may think that global warming or drifting continents were responsible, but “galljdaj” over at The Guardian’s talkboard knows better. He/she/it says:
After the US Blanket Bombed much of Afghanistan for about a year, millions of tons of impact, Afghanistan suffered a major earthquake.
Now after more than a year and millions more tons of Bombing, another earthquake follows.
There’s a great review of 10.5 on jabootu.com…
Posted by John Nowak on 2005 01 01 at 12:14 AM • permalink
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An act of god of this magnitude disses the peoples of all religions, clobbering muslims, hindus, buddhists, christians, atheists and sundry pagan bystanders alike. A lot of scientists were watching Mt St Helens until it blew up in everyone’s faces. There’s not a lot you can do about earthquakes, but we will still be treated to outpourings of verbal lava directed at the real or imagined shortcomings of “the authorities”.